Wichita State pulls off ultimate 'shocker' knocking off No.1 Gonzaga

Mar. 24, 2013
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Wichita State Shockers forward Chadrack Lufile (0), Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Elias Harris (20) and Shockers guard Ron Baker (31) battle for position in the first half of the game during the third round of the NCAA basketball tournament at EnergySolutions Arena. / Steve Dykes, USA TODAY Sports

by Lindsay H. Jones, USA TODAY Sports

by Lindsay H. Jones, USA TODAY Sports

SALT LAKE CITY - Wichita State has shot itself to the Sweet 16 and toppled No. 1 seed Gonzaga.

The No. 9-seeded Shockers didn't miss a single shot for a stretch of nearly seven minutes late in the second half, a run that included five three-pointers. One by one, those shots turned a seven-point deficit into a 76-70 win in one of the tournament's biggest stunners.

Gonzaga, and its best season in school history, is finished - the first No. 1 seed to be eliminated in this NCAA tournament.

With one day remaining in the tournament's opening weekend, the West's No. 1, 3, 4, 5 and 7 seeds have fallen. When Wichita State shows up in Los Angeles for its Sweet 16 game next week, it will do so as the favorite, matched up against the winner of Sunday's game between No. 12 Mississippi and No. 13 LaSalle.

"The improbable is happening this year," Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said. "(Gonzaga is) a great team; they have a great coach, a great program, but today they had to beat us, and our guys were able to pull it out."

The Shockers weren't intimidated at all by the No. 1 seed beside Gonzaga's name, nor by the Bulldogs' imposing center, Kelly Olynyk. Wichita State took the blueprint established Thursday by No. 16 Southern for how to rattle the Zags, and just started shooting from the perimeter.

And unlike in Wichita's second-round game against Pittsburgh, when the Shockers hit just two of their 20 three-point attempts, those shots just kept falling. Wichita built an 11-point lead in the first half, and used those three-pointers - the result of a confident bunch of shooters and lax Gonzaga defense - to steal their biggest tournament win in school history.

Cleanthony Early and Ron Baker made four three-pointers apiece, and reserve guard Fred Van Vleet hit the biggest one of the bunch to give Wichita State a 70-65 lead with 88 seconds remaining.

"It was pretty indescribable, the feeling when your shot goes in. It's something that just sends chills down your spine with how exciting it is," said Baker, who scored 16 points. "And when it happens how many ever times in a row, it's a life memory, I'll tell you that."

For Wichita State, this could be a programming-defining win against the very school Marshall has chosen as his model for success in a mid-major conference. Marshall was giddy throughout Wichita's raucous post-game celebration. He picked up his teenage daughter, Maggie, and swung her around in his arms as he and his team danced along to the pep band.

He ran over to the Wichita State cheering section and held up his hands in the school's Shocker symbol.

"We're going to L.A., baby!" he shouted.

Marshall has his team in the Sweet 16 a year later than most expected. Last year's team won the Missouri Valley Conference and earned a No. 5 seed, but lost its opening game to No. 12 Virginia Commonwealth. With the three leading scorers from that team gone, little was expected out of this group, at least outside of Wichita.

But Marshall restocked his roster with Early, a junior college transfer, and guard Malcolm Armstead, who sat out last year after transferring from Oregon, and Baker. For what these Shockers lacked in hype, they more than made up for in grit, just how Marshall designed it.

"I don't have thugs, I don't have bad people, I don't have guys that don't go to class or are out causing trouble or getting in trouble with the law," Marshall said. "These guys go to class, take care of their business in the community and are just fun to coach, and that's who you want to experience this type of experience with. They're tough. Our coaching staff is tough. Nobody in our program came from basketball royalty. We're all blue collar."

It isn't so different, really, from Gonzaga, which over the past decade and a half has transformed from America's favorite March Cinderella to a bona fide national power. To the Bulldogs, earning a No. 1 seed in this tournament solidified their place among the nation's elite programs.

But another early tournament exit will only fuel the perception that the Bulldogs aren't built to win the big games in March, and that Gonzaga didn't deserve that No. 1 seed they were given ahead of Miami or Duke. The Bulldogs haven't made a Sweet 16 since 2009, and haven't been to an Elite 8 since 1999.

"You can say whatever you want about our strength of schedule, but we earned it with the best record," Gonzaga guard Kevin Pangos said. "That's the unfortunate part - we wanted to prove ourselves. We don't listen too much to stuff outside of this locker room, but we did want to prove our self. We did want to make a big run."

Pangos spoke inside a silent Gonzaga locker room Saturday night. Beside him, teammates wiped away tears. They understood why they lost, but they still couldn't believe this was how, and where, the best season in school history had ended.

"Our offense wasn't as good as it was all year. Nothing was as good as it was all year," Pangos said.

They entered this tournament as a favorite, and they leave it with a shocking loss.

Wichita State, meanwhile, is enjoying their role as one of the new Gonzagas. As players posed for pictures, checked out their headlines on their smart phones and danced in the locker room, Marshall said he hoped this is only the start of something bigger. Something bigger in this tournament, and something more lasting for his program as a whole.

"I think with Wichita State, it was having that opportunity. Doing it, though, is the hard part. It's not just having the facilities and the players and the coach and all that. You've got to have a sustained run of excellence," Marshall said. "Maybe one day we can be the No. 1 team in the country, the No. 1 seed and all that. I'm just excited for this year to be in the Sweet 16, have a chance to go to the Elite 8 next week."